Paul Bettany in talks for Showtime pilot 'Masters of Sex'

The actor, who welcomed a baby girl with wife Jennifer Connelly in June, will play a sex researcher in a television adaptation of Thomas Maier's book Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love, Deadline reports.

The book chronicles the research of Masters (Bettany) and Johnson, which helped kick off the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

Bettany has starred in a number of films, including A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. However, Masters of Sex will mark his first foray into American television.